This article presents a summary of the results of the latest (2011) round of the International Comparison Program (ICP). The ICP is a worldwide statistical partnership to collect comparative price data and compile detailed expenditure values of countries’GDP, and to estimatepurchasing power parities (PPPs)of the world’s economies. Using PPPs instead of market exchange rates to convert currencies makes it possible to compare the output of economies and the material welfare of their inhabitants in real terms (that is, controlling for differences in price levels). In total, 177 countries participated fully in the 2011 round of the ICP[1]. The complete results can be found on theICP website. Eurostat is a partner in the ICP and provides the required data for the 28 EU Member States, three EFTA Member States, four candidate countries and two potential candidate countries. This article focuses on the position of theEU-28in the world. The positions of individual European countries within the EU can be foundhere.

Main statistical findings

Shares in world GDP

In 2011, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the EU-28 represented 18.6% of the world's GDP, expressed inPurchasing Power Standards (PPS). The United States was the second biggest economy with a share of 17.1% and China[2]the third biggest with 14.9%, followed by India and Japan, with 6.4% and 4.8% respectively. Figure 1 shows the shares of all countries (outside the EU) that have a share larger than 1%. For comparison: Germany is the largest EU country with a share in world GDP of 3.7%.

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